‘floating city’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2011 paper, glue, glitter, wire 183 x 80 x 60 cm image © katsumi hayakawa

exploring the notion of urban density and the natural collection of architecture, japanese artist katsumi hayakawa creates three-dimensional landscapes out of paper and glue. the finished pieces are initially read as a whole – a pulsating arrangement of regular shapes and volume – then as an assemblage of individual components that make up the holistic sculpture. together, systems of patterns and motifs emerge from the collective.

painstakingly hand-crafted piece by piece, hayakawa plays with the compositional idea of void vs. solid in the careful presentation of his work. while examining the impression of architectural density, the pieces maintain the delicate nature of the material at hand.

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘floating city’ detail image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘floating city’ detail image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘covered image0 by katsumi hayakawa, 2011 paper, glue, gouche, ink-jet printing 33 x 25 cm image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘covered image’ – detail image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘transcolor 2’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2011 paper, glue, gouche, ink-jet printing 25 x 33 cm image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘transcolor 3’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2011 paper, glue, gouche, ink-jet printing 65 x 50 cm image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘code blue’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2011 paper, glue, pencil, vinyl chloride 33 x 25 cm images © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘hakomono 3’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2010 paper on paper 46 x 51 cm image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘hakomono 3’ – detail image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘traffic blue line’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2011 mixed media 86 x 116 cm image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘traffic blue line’ – detail image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘reflection’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2010 mixed media 30 x 21 cm images © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘permutation’ by katsumi hayakawa, 2011 paper, glue, gouche image © katsumi hayakawa

katsumi hayakawa: architectural paper sculptures ‘permutation’ – detail image © katsumi hayakawa

via it’s nice that